Battery terminal connection



Patented Sept. 4, 1945 UNITED STATES" PATENT BATTERY TERMINAL CONNECTION John G. Sutherland, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application July ll, 1943, Serial No. 495,393

4 Claims. (c1. 173-1259) This invention relates to improvements in the -means for connecting electric cables to battery terminals, and the principal object of the invention is {to provide a connection which will ensure aproper electrical contactbetween the cable and the terminal postand which may be secured in position without the danger of injury to the post or battery cell through the application of too severe a pressure.

A further object is to provide a connector which may be easily and quickly attached or detached with the use of an ordinary spanner or wrench sothat the necessity: of the use of special gripping pliers, such as are often required with the-present form of bolt-secured connectors.

A further object is to economize in the use of metal in the clamp. I

The principal feature of the invention consists in producing a clamp stamped from sheet metal which will present efiective gripping surfaces to the periphery of the terminal post, such gripping surfaces being in the form of threads which are engaged by an encircling nut, the thread and the threaded surfaces of. the nut being tapered to ensure the easy placing of the nut and an increased tightening or constricting effect upo the thread surfaces-engaging the post.

A further important feature consists in pro- .viding a nut to encircling the post and the threaded connecting. member "with small and :1

large tapered threaded orifices to permit the reversing of the nut to accommodate variation in size in battery terminal posts.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my im- J proved terminal post connector attached to a battery able and readyfor insertion over a terminal post.

' Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through a'post connector as illustrated in Figure 1 showing the fastening nutarranged on the upper end of the connector.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view through the threaded post engaging portion of .the connector illustrated in Figure 1 and showing the fastening nut reversed from the position illustrated in Figure 2 with the larger threaded sectional view taken lugs, the .lugs being drawn together and clamped to the post by a transverse bolt.

-With this type of connectonwh chisvery ommon. and almost exclusively used, it is necessary both in tightening and loosening the bolt to hold the head end f the bolt with avwrench or fpliers while the nut is loosened at theother end with another tool, and specially formed pliers with right-angled projecting jaws are commonly. used for loosening'thenut. If the particular tools described are not available the-loosening of, the terminal connector bolt becomes a difficult operation' and frequently the connector or the post, or both, are damaged as .aresult of the force applied to loosen the boltwhich is-peculiarly subject to corrosion in its environment on the battery The present invention has been devised to overcome these; difficulties and to prov-idea connector which may be securely attached tame cable in a very simple manner. and then may be attached to the. .post. or removed therefrom by the simple operation of turning a largenut which encircles theconnector andpost.

. 4 Inv the construction herein shown a length of "sheet metal is stamped. out substantially inthe form illustrated .in Figure 61 .of the drawing. At

.one end of (this metal stamping there isformed .a transversely rectangular position- I, the ends 2 of which are afterwards-turned inwardly, as illustrated in Figures 1-, 2.and 4,--to overlapthe end 3 of the battery cable.. v 1

A pair of narrowlugs 4 extend laterally from the metal strip adjacent totherectangular portion I and these lugsare. adapted .to bev turned .inwardlyover the central part of the metalstrip in the opposite direction to the lugs'zrto form guides for the other terminal .end 5..of the connector member when they strip has beenformed up and folded. i

Next adjacent to the portion of the blank from whichgthe lugs 4 extend isformeda tapering threaded portion 6 which in being stamped is curved transversely to substantially the circumferential curve of the battery post which is tapered. A narrow strip 1 connects the threaded'portion 6 with a correspondingly threaded and divergent portion 8. Adjacentto the wide base end of the portion 8 the metal stripis widened intoa circular washer formation QWhifih has a central opening [0 of slightly larger diameterthan the-bottom diameterof the battery post, and the terminal end lugr5 extends beyond thewasher portiond.

Themetal stripthus formed has-the lugs 2- and right angular relation to the threaded portion 8 and when the strip is thus bent the washer portion extends beneath the member I and is centrally arranged in relation to the two transversely curved thre'aded'members 6 and 8.

In forming up the strip as thus described the end lug is caused to extend under and parallel turned lugs 4. These lugs are then bent inwardly under the strip 5 to hold the structure in shape with the substantially frusto-conical threaded portion formed by the members Gand 8.arranged either side of the top centre strip 1.

structure will not be distorted but both sections of the frustro-conical member will be held in proper alignment and the tightening of the nut thereon will not force them out of their proper position in engaging the threads of the nut.

From this description it will be appreciated that this device can be made up from comparatively with the fiat strip portion beneath the downv light-gauge sheet metal in a stamping operation.

It is first blanked out then formed up in the manner'described and no machining whatever is required. .IThe nut is of extremely simple construction 7 and .can be threaded with a single taper thread or dual threads as described.

The fitting is then complete and readyfor use and it. isattached to cable 3 by simply inserting the end of the cable between the upturnedlug portions 72. and. thejsaid lugs are then turned inwardly over the cable to grip it securely and the .cable and lugs aresecurely soldered together.

A nut 'l l is preferably formed with two spaced flanges, one slightly larger than the other and spaced apart by a groove I 2. The smaller end I3 is threaded with a tapered thread corresponding in diameter with the threads at the upper frustroconical ends of the member formed by the sections Band 8 or the metal strip, and the larger nut section. I 4 is threaded with a tapering thread of a larger diameter which fits the lower portion of the threaded frustro-conical member, as is 'illustrated particularly in Figure 3..

In the use ofthe battery terminal connector herein shown and described the threaded frustroconical sheet metal portions of the formed-up member slips easily over the small diameter'ends of the batteryterminal post and drops down over its tapered surface. 7 V

.The nut H may be placed over the threaded frustro-conical section of the connector, either before the said connector is placed on the post or after, and as both the nut and the frustro-conical sectionand the post are tapered the turning of the nut quickly tightens upon'the threaded sheet metal member and squeezes the apexes of the thread on the'inward side thereof into close engaging and embedding contact in the lead terminal post. Consequently a very excellentelectrical contact is obtained'and the large nut is easily'engaged by a standard spanner or wrench and presents excellent grippingsurfaces to the wrench, permitting the nut to be turned to ensure a firm grip between the threaded member and the lead post.

If the post is extra large the nut may be reversed to bring the larger threaded portion into engagement with the threaded frusto-conical gripping portion, or, if the upper threaded portion of the frustro-conical gripping portion should be marred the nut can be reversed so that the larger threaded portion thereof will extend further down on the gripping members and grip the post securely in another position.

It will be noted tha't the washer-shaped extension 9 extends under the bottom of the frustoconical threaded portion of the connector and the lug 5extends between'the inturned lugs 4 so that it is held securely in position. 1 The device is thus 1 ,quite rigid an'djwhen being placed in position the terminal post first'extends through the hole! 0 of p the washer and the entire structure is thus held securely in position on thepost so that the outer threaded portion 8 of thegripper part of the The amount of metal used in a single connection will be greatly, reduced from the standard connections'at present in use which is'an important consideration, and the device when applied to a battery post ensures perfect electrical contact even though the post maybe mishapen through corrosion or otherwise. Further, the connector will easily slip on to posts which may .be of different sizes.

' What I claim as my invention is: V

1. A battery terminal, comprising a length of sheet metal formed intermediate of its length with a substantially frustro-conical threaded portion to fit over a battery terminal post andhaving a socket extension from one endthereof to receive and hold a conductor cable and an extension from'the oppositeend having an'op'ening therein to receive the terminal post, and a nut adapted to fit over the frustro-conical portion of said member and to compress fsame into closeengaging electrical contact with the tapered post.

2. A battery terminalfcomp'rising a strip of sheet metal having formed intermediate of its length and spaced apart by a narrow strip a pair of tapering and transversely curved threaded portions, said strip having a perforated washer- 40 like extension to ,fit over a battery post,-and an extension at the opposite end of said washer I adapted to be secured to a cable.

3. A battery terminal, comprising a strip of sheet metal blanked out with a transversely arranged'rectangular portion at one end providing lug extensions to be folded inwardly to embrace a cable, laterally extending lug portions arranged adjacent to said rectangularportion' adapted to be turned inwardly, :a pair of tapered and transversely curved and threaded portions spaced apart by a narrow strip, a washer extension from V the end of the outermost of said pair of threaded members, and a lug extending from said washer extension adapted to be engaged by the inturned lug portions adjacent to the rectangular portion at the opposite endof the strip.

4. A battery terminal, comprising a pair of part-circular threaded sheet metal members connected by a narrow strip and adapted to fit over a tapering battery terminal post, a washer extension from the base ofv one of said threaded members adapted to fit over the battery post and having an extending lug, an extension from the base of the other of said tapered threaded members having'lugs turned inwardly to embrace the side edges of the lug extension of said washer member, and an extension adjacent to'the aforesaid lug members having inturned lug members to embrace a current cable.

JOHN q. SUTHERLAND, I 

